OS X: Feral has announced F1 2012 for the Mac!

[Djevlen]

http://www.feralinteractive.com/en/news/343/

Title and link says it all, going to be great to see another AAA racing title on the mac!

[Lampmeister]

I am definitely getting it! Then all we'll need is a nice port of Gran Turismo to OS X.

[MacGamerHQ]

Originally Posted by Djevlen

http://www.feralinteractive.com/en/news/343/

Title and link says it all, going to be great to see another AAA racing title on the mac!

Thanks for the heads up! Indeed, is really cool to get a AAA racing game! There isn't a huge choice for the mac!

[TheChillPill]

I'm excited to see this, despite never having played a game on my mac at all. Hoping the experience at least matches that of the xbox version.

On a related note - anyone with experience using Steering Wheels on a mac? Any recommendations?

[BRLawyer]

Feral is BY FAR the best Mac developer/porter - virtually all their releases are top-notch in terms of stability and performance. Hopefully this will be another one of them.

[JaguarGod]

Originally Posted by TheChillPill

I'm excited to see this, despite never having played a game on my mac at all. Hoping the experience at least matches that of the xbox version.

On a related note - anyone with experience using Steering Wheels on a mac? Any recommendations?

I have experience with racing wheels on Mac. I developed the Game "Auto Sport Driving" for OSX (Sorry for the plug but it needs all the help it can get!). You can find all of this same information on my games official site in the Support section. Hope this reply sheds some light on this subject for you. I have been a sim racer since the early 90's and have been using Macs since then also. That is what prompted me to develop my own racing sim for Mac. Also Feral Interactive is, BY FAR, my favorite Mac game developer and port company. They make games VERY Mac friendly and always go the extra mile to make sure the game is fit for Mac players. Just try Dirt 2. They did a fantastic job getting that to play very well on OSX and is just as much fun as the PC version. I think you will find that F1 2012, when finished, will be everything a Mac racer could hope for.

STEERING WHEELS IN OSX
On to steering wheels in OSX. First, a note about Lion and Mountain Lion. Apple omitted the Logitech FFB kext in 10.7 and 10.8 for some unknown reason thus rendering the only wheels capable of real FFB in OSX a bit handicapped. The good news is that it can be re-installed into Lion or Mountain Lion. I will explain later how to do this.

OK, now on to the wheels themselves.....
1. Logitech Momo Racing - Works perfectly out of the box. FFB is good but remember, if you are running 10.7 or 10.8 you need to install the Logitech FFB kext. Shifter works and all 6 buttons on the wheel work correctly.
2. Logitech Driving Force Pro - Works great, but some of the features do not work. FFB is good but remember, if you are running 10.7 or 10.8 you need to install the Logitech FFB kext. Shifter works along with most of the buttons. Some of the PS3 GT features do not work.
3. Logitech G25/27 - Best wheel for Mac in my opinion. FFB is great but remember, if you are running 10.7 or 10.8 you need to install the Logitech FFB kext. Paddle shifters work fine, but the Gated (H) Shifter does not work. The 6 buttons on the wheel itself are a little strange. All 3 left-side buttons work as 1 button while all 3 right side buttons work as 1 button. So on the wheel, you can only map 2 buttons.
4. Thrustmaster F430 Wheel - Wheel works well, but since it is not a Logitech wheel, it does not have FFB which is a huge limitation. But the wheel does work along with most of the buttons. The paddle shifters work also.
5. Thrustmaster Wireless F430 Cockpit - Wheel works well, but no FFB which is a huge limitation. But the wheel does work along with most of the buttons. The paddle shifters work also. Works about as well as the standalone F430 USB wheel listed above.
6. Fanatec CSW - Wheel works, but since it is not a Logitech wheel, it does not have FFB which is a huge limitation. But the wheel does work along with most of the buttons. The paddle shifters work also. Has centering tension when FFB is turned on.

FFB IN OSX (10.7 and 10.8)
Now on to how to get FFB with Logitech wheels in OSX. Remember, only Logitech wheels will have usable FFB and in order to use it you need to install this kext if you are running 10.7 or 10.8. If you are still using 10.6, the kext is already in the OS.
These Logitech wheels are successful in providing FFB in OSX;
Logitech Momo Racing
Logitech Driving Force Pro
Logitech G25
Logitech G27

Instructions
1. First you need a kext installer. Email me autosportdriving at siniscope dot com for one.
2. Take a copy of the Logitech FFB kext (LogitechForceFeedback.kext) from 10.6 (or get it here) and copy it to your desktop in Lion.
3. Open the kext utility and drag the logitech ffb kext into it, type your password and install.
4. You may get a message saying that it looks like it installed fine and to reboot.
5. Before you reboot, close the kext installation utility. You may have to force quit the utility as it is made for previous versions of OSX and does not work perfectly. If you do not quit the app first, when you reboot, the file may delete itself as OSX always tries to fix any conflicts when shutting down and when starting up.
6. Once it has closed, restart.
7. Check to make sure the file "LogitechForceFeedback.kext" has been added to your extensions library at /system/library/extensions.
8. Once this is confirmed, you should now be able to use your Logitech FFB peripherals again.

SETTING UP YOUR WHEELS IN OSX
Now, here's how to get the most out of your wheel in OSX for racing games like F1 2012 and, of course, my game, Auto Sport Driving...
1. Unplug your wheel while the computer is off and make sure you only have 1 USB controller/wheel plugged in (OSX does not like more than 1 device for a game at once)
2. Turn on your computer
3. When the computer has started and you are at your desktop, plug the USB wheel into your Mac
4. The wheel will calibrate (Logitech Wheels were tested)
5. Start whatever racing game you wish and have fun. If you are playing my game you can go to the official site and see exactly how to calibrate the wheels for that specific game.

Thank You for reading, Jason Frabotta

[TheChillPill]

Many Thanks, JaguarGod - that's a huge help! Logitech it is then!

[lewdvig]

I skipped this years's version on Windows. I am so glad i did. Finally I can support a new Feral launch.

Usually they release games that I bought and finished months ago.

[tredstone]

Hope this is available on Steam

[edddeduck]

Originally Posted by tredstone

Hope this is available on Steam

Not on launch, but perhaps later.

[Supa_Fly]

Can't even celebrate this as no requirement specifications where even mentioned on the site.

I don't even know if the HD4000 chipset is more than sufficient. I'm REALLY angry that Apple did not use a dedicated video card for the 13 MBP R-type.

[Jonez1]

This is so fantastic news!!! I can not wait to get to drive Lotus and my name is Kimi Räikkönen

[MacsRgr8]

E X C E L L E N T news!!!

@ JaguarGod: TNX for your gr8 post. Should be a sticky, IMHO.

Feral is doing gr8 stuff on the Mac, for ages already.
I got the F1 CS 2000 way back when the G4 was the most powerful CPU for the Mac. I even had the privilege to talk to one of their guys at the 2001 or 2002 Mac World Expo in Paris when the game was launched.

I assume everyone is having fun with Dirt 2 too?

[JaguarGod]

Originally Posted by MacsRgr8

E X C E L L E N T news!!!

@ JaguarGod: TNX for your gr8 post. Should be a sticky, IMHO.

Feral is doing gr8 stuff on the Mac, for ages already.
I got the F1 CS 2000 way back when the G4 was the most powerful CPU for the Mac. I even had the privilege to talk to one of their guys at the 2001 or 2002 Mac World Expo in Paris when the game was launched.

I assume everyone is having fun with Dirt 2 too?

Feral's games are some of the best native ports on the Mac. Dirt 2 is absolutely fantastic and shows that the Mac can do racing games very well. With F1 being my favorite racing (besides the old CART days which is still a great memory for me) this is a great game to come to the Mac. I collect F1 racing game titles and it is sad that I only have 1 F1 game for the Mac platform and it came out a long time ago! F1 2000 CS is still a great game and I play it sometimes on my PPC Powermac G5 Quad just for kicks. But the chance to play the 2012 season on the Mac is just a real treat.

As far as steering wheels on the Mac. I wish things were better for OSX. Fortunately, we can still get true FFB with the Logitech wheels (granted with the help I listed above), but we really need to get actual programmable drivers for more wheels on OSX. If we could get Thrustmaster and Logitech to do something like this and create these "profilers", it would really help developers try to build sims for OSX that can be played with a bit more immersion. But they apparently have no intention of doing so right now, so we are a bit left out. I have just about every wheel made over the past 10 years for PC and most of them work well with OSX, but again, without FFB, they are not ideal and the games are just that much better with FFB.

No matter what though, I am constantly working on releasing content for my game and great companies such as Feral Interactive that can release better AAA titles like F1 2012 are my beacons of hope for our Mac platform and native gaming in general.

[Dirtyharry50]

I hope gamepads will be supported as well, namely the Logitech F-510 which I own. I imagine having a wheel must be cool but I'm more casual than that. A gamepad would suit me fine, assuming it works well with this title.

Speaking of casual, I hope the game supports an arcade mode of racing where I don't have to worry much about the simulation aspects of it with a more forgiving driving model, etc. I just want to hop in and enjoy the thrill of the racing itself pretty much.

[JaguarGod]

Originally Posted by Dirtyharry50

I hope gamepads will be supported as well, namely the Logitech F-510 which I own. I imagine having a wheel must be cool but I'm more casual than that. A gamepad would suit me fine, assuming it works well with this title.

Speaking of casual, I hope the game supports an arcade mode of racing where I don't have to worry much about the simulation aspects of it with a more forgiving driving model, etc. I just want to hop in and enjoy the thrill of the racing itself pretty much.

Feral has a great track record of including gamepad support on their games. Also, most gamepads are recognized by Apple HID and if the game supports gamepads and OSX recognizes it, it should work.

As far as F1 2012 and the modes included, try HERE for information on everything the game has to offer. It is a review from the guys at Inside Sim Racing and they are very good at dissecting sim games. I will say that F1 2012 is a very good game. It includes many driving assists that should make for a driving experience you will enjoy. But it can also be a more sim-like experience for those of us hardcore racers and that is what is so nice about getting this game on OSX.

[Dirtyharry50]

Originally Posted by JaguarGod

Feral has a great track record of including gamepad support on their games. Also, most gamepads are recognized by Apple HID and if the game supports gamepads and OSX recognizes it, it should work.

As far as F1 2012 and the modes included, try HERE for information on everything the game has to offer. It is a review from the guys at Inside Sim Racing and they are very good at dissecting sim games. I will say that F1 2012 is a very good game. It includes many driving assists that should make for a driving experience you will enjoy. But it can also be a more sim-like experience for those of us hardcore racers and that is what is so nice about getting this game on OSX.

That's good news. Thanks very much for your reply.

[imacken]

It's great news that Feral are doing this. I just wish they would make the announcement earlier before a lot of Mac users like me have already bought it.

F1 2012 works perfectly under Parallels 8 by the way.

[Djevlen]

Originally Posted by edddeduck

Not on launch, but perhaps later.

It would be awesome if we got some feral games on Steam, now that you can have separate mac and pc versions there.

[edddeduck]

Originally Posted by MacsRgr8

E X C E L L E N T news!!!

@ JaguarGod: TNX for your gr8 post. Should be a sticky, IMHO.

Feral is doing gr8 stuff on the Mac, for ages already.
I got the F1 CS 2000 way back when the G4 was the most powerful CPU for the Mac. I even had the privilege to talk to one of their guys at the 2001 or 2002 Mac World Expo in Paris when the game was launched.

I assume everyone is having fun with Dirt 2 too?

I think that might have been me, at that time I was the one on the booth with the dreadlocks

Originally Posted by Dirtyharry50

I hope gamepads will be supported as well, namely the Logitech F-510 which I own.

We support 50+ (?) gamepads including the entire Logitech F series, the PS3 and XBox 360 pads.

Edwin

Edwin

[JaguarGod]

OK, the final version is released at last! Having to resort to the PC and PS3 version of the game, I was so happy to play the Mac version. I am sure you can figure that compared to the PS3 version, the Mac version looks generations ahead if you have a good Mac. The DX11 version on the PC looks really nice and though the Mac version may not be as gorgeous, it looks fantastic.

Once dialing in the G27 FFB settings and killing most of the deadzones and saturation, the wheel feels about as good as it gets. It takes a bit to get the wheel to feel as reactive and realistic as you want, but once you do, the racing is smooth and fun.

I did have an instance of the game hanging and once it even crashed to the desktop. But it has been perfect since then. It seems all of the PC patches have been included and I am very impressed to get this final version before Christmas. Now my Wife does not need to get me anything.

Thanks Feral Interactive (Special Thanks to Edwin)

[Ddyracer]

Any vehicle damage?

[imacken]

Originally Posted by JaguarGod

Once dialing in the G27 FFB settings and killing most of the deadzones and saturation, the wheel feels about as good as it gets. It takes a bit to get the wheel to feel as reactive and realistic as you want, but once you do, the racing is smooth and fun.

So, the FF works OK then? Are all the buttons - including the d-pad and all 6 individual ones on the main wheel - mappable? It's just that in your post #6 above you say the 2 banks of 3 buttons map as 2 only.

[JaguarGod]

@Ddyracer
Yes, there is vehicle damage and it is pretty good!

@imacken
Yes, the G27 still has the problem with the buttons, but once you install the FFB kext and dial in the FFB settings to your liking, the FFB is pretty good. But Feral has released a new piece of software in their support section for the G27 and other Logitech wheels called "FreeTheWheel". This unlocks the wheels "native" mode and all of the wheel, including the 900 degree rotation and the gated shifter, works. The only issue here is that it does unlock the 900 degrees and F1 cars don't use it. You can give it a try though.

[imacken]

Originally Posted by JaguarGod

Yes, the G27 still has the problem with the buttons. But Feral has released a new piece of software in their support section for the G27 and other Logitech wheels called "FreeTheWheel". This unlocks the wheels "native" mode and all of the wheel, including the 900 degree rotation and the gated shifter, works. The only issue here is that it does unlock the 900 degrees and F1 cars don't use it. You can give it a try though.

So, the FF works does it?
Yes, I noticed that 'freethewheel'.
Are the buttons on the shifter mappable OK?
I don't see how this is usable without the buttons. I mean, I use the buttons for KERS, DRS, look left, look right, look behind and car status.
I don't want the 900 degrees either.
At this rate, I'll be sticking with the PC version in Parallels which works very well.